More reading - this time about bottle conditioning. If my yeast attenuation level is say 80%, does that mean there would be enough sugars in the bottle for the yeast to carb the beer? Or would priming sugar still need to be added... Thanks in advance!

1 Answer
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You will need to add priming sugar if the beer has reached its terminal gravity with the yeast being used.

In this example, despite the 80% attenuation the remaining 20% is not usually fermentable sugars. Its comprised of protein, dextrans and other molecules in solution that are largely ignored by your primary yeast strain.

Lastly, reported attenuation stats for a given strain are not a promise of performance. Wort composition (influenced by ingredients and mash conditions) will generally dictate the amount of attenuation possible of a given wort. It is possible to transfer a fermenting beer to the bottling phase prematurely, counting on the remaining fermentation to carbonate the beer. Generally, this is a difficult thing for most homebrewers to predict accurately enough and get reliable levels of carbonation.